This invention relates to guide ropes or escort safety lines for small children wherein the children grasp a handle attached to a main rope to prevent the children from straying or getting lost.
In the prior art, children have been tethered to ropes to keeps them from getting lost particularly in crowds. Safety harnesses such as shown in DES. Patent 383,256 to Hampton have been used to secure children to a supervising adult. The following patents represent the status of the prior art over which the present invention is a patentable improvement.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,638,764 to Anderson discloses a security system for securing a small child to an adult comprising a wrist loop which is attached at one end to a child and at its other end to an adult.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,423,292 to Hall discloses a safety harness for children with Velcro(copyright) or hook and loop fasteners securing a child""s wrist to a connection strap.
U.S. Pat. 5,447,121 to Spence discloses an escort safety line for children which is non-tethering and non restraining.
Other patents of interest include U.S. Pat. No. 4,765,279 to Klickstein, U.S. Pat. No. 5,351,654 to Fuentes and U.S. Pat. No. 6,047,665 to Deveaux.
The present disclosure relates to a child friendly safety rope which is inexpensive, easy to use and effective. The leader and supervisory positions located at opposite ends of the rope permit control over the children who grasp intermediate cross member handles. Decorations may hang from the rope to give the impression of a group of elephants moving in line or a train with several cars pulled by a locomotive.
This invention relates to a rope guide which is used to escort small children. The guide rope comprises a central main nylon rope with a plurality of intermediate cross ropes with end handles. The cross-ropes are located at spaced positions on the main rope. A team leader position is located at the forward portion of the main rope and includes an adjustable belt-like element which fastens about the waist of the team leader. A supervisor handle is located at the end of the main rope to be gripped by the adult responsible for the small children who grasp the handles on the cross-ropes. Decorative signs or appliqu xc3xa9s may be hung from the main rope to enhance the design for children. Generally the guide rope, called a TUGLER(trademark), is used for a group of 5 small children ages 3-8.
Accordingly, an object of this invention is to provide a new and improved guide rope to escort small children while promoting team togetherness and safety.
Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved guide rope to protect a group of small children which includes a group leader position at one end, intermediate handles for the children and a supervisor""s handle at the other end.
A further object of this invention is to provide a new and improved rope guide for small children which includes a central rope with a belt at the forward or leader end and a supervisor""s handle at the other end and intermediate children""s handles at the end of cross-ropes.
A more specific object of this invention is to provide a new and improved guide rope for small children which includes a central guide rope, an adjustable leader belt at the forward end, a supervisor""s handle at the other end and spaced cross ropes with handles at each end which are slideable on the main rope for predetermined distances, and decorative pictures which may be connected to the main rope with the use of different colored nylon rope and appliquxc3xa9s further team association for example: blue elephants; yellow elephants.